Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Boosts Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 294,778 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned about 0.06% of NiSource worth $10,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in NiSource by 53.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $176,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,078 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in NiSource by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $786,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,368 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,162,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of NiSource by 793.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 883,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,609,000 after buying an additional 784,495 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.50.

NiSource Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NiSource stock traded up $0.36 on Wednesday, hitting $38.79. The stock had a trading volume of 7,425,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,745,633. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $24.80 and a one year high of $38.99. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $36.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.21. The stock has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from NiSource's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.88%.

NiSource Company Profile

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.